Can't
by dove1593
Summary: Can't isn't a word, it's an excuse to not try.
1. The Definition of Can't

_**The Definition of Can't**_

**A/N: I wrote this...a long time ago, I know that much. I probably started it in August and finished it somewhere around the middle of November. It ended up being around 11 pages, which is a pain to read all at once for someone like me, who has a very short attention span. So, I put into about...five or six parts that very from about 300 words to...however many this part is.**

**Oh, and there's more cliffhangers than parts, which makes zero sense, but I like cliffhangers.**

**Disclaimer: Ha, I'm getting sick of typing this...but I don't own Avatar, the characters, my dog...so on.**

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"I won't do it," Zuko said, dropping his arms.

Finally, after years of being second, fighting for his honor, and battling with and against the teenage girl before him, he couldn't find it in him to do it. After he'd pictured it so vividly for years: the move, the flame, her scream, he couldn't do it. It was set up perfectly, too. She was on her knees, wounded and seconds away from tears, her dusty hair hanging limp and blocking her vision, her clothing torn, and her face covered in soot; her weakest moment. He had her cornered with the battle raging on behind; she'd never be able to escape.

Still, Zuko couldn't follow through. As quick and easy as it would be, he could do it with his eyes closed if he wanted, the prince didn't have the ability. He couldn't kill his sister.

"Zuko, just get it over with!" Azula snapped at him, the tears beginning to streak down her face. "I won't live anyway!" Her words were filled with sobs and followed by sick-sounding coughs.

It pained Zuko's heart to see her that way. She'd always been so strong and he'd strangely admired her for that. Now, she had no strength left and he couldn't bare it. He hung his head in refusal and sank to his knees from exhaustion. "No, Azula," he tired voice managed to choke out; he'd never refused to follow her before. "I won't."

"You will too, just do it." Her voice was softer, like she couldn't yell anymore, but still harsh as ever.

"No," he repeated sternly.

"Yes…"

"No, Azula," Zuko cut her off, using the same harsh tone. "Not another word."

She backed off and Zuko reached for her shoulder. Tears began to fall more heavily from her gold eyes, meaning she gave up. He couldn't help but wrap his arms around her, pulling her into his lap. He could feel her breathing was shallow, so he figured he shouldn't hold her as tightly as he wanted to.

She was admitting defeat and giving in, letting the burns and cuts covering her body take her without a fight. It didn't seem like Azula to give up that way; she'd always put up a decent fight even if she knew she wouldn't win. Azula had always had an open mind, too. She found all the possibilities and looked at every detail and was never too discouraged if something went wrong and didn't work. Why was she just giving up now?

"Azula, hang on," he whispered. He wasn't going to let her give up…without out a fight.

"I can't," she whispered back, her voice strained and weak, "it's too painful."

"Can't isn't a word, remember?" Zuko spoke gently, even though he wanted to order at her so badly. "It's an excuse to not try."

"But…"

"Shh…that's not a word either." He rocked her softly, treating her almost like she was five again. "Don't speak if hurts that much, just hang on."

Her tears continued to fall without saying another word and he thought her breathing deepened for a minute. Zuko wasn't sure what to do next, but he knew it would involve medical help. Obviously he couldn't help her much more than he already was, and any kind of healer was too far away. He didn't have too much time to think, either. There was nothing he could do, except drag every last bit of life out of her in a slow and painful way by telling her to hang on.

A loud explosion broke his train of thought and he glanced over his shoulder to see what dare threaten his sister's life even more. Smoke was rising from dying embers surrounding a heap a little ways away. It took a minute to register in his mind, but the heap was Zuko's father, Fire Lord Ozai, lying dead after an attack from…the Avatar? Sure enough, the Avatar had been the cause of the attack; he was standing strongly a short distance away from what was once the Fire Lord.

He looked back to his sister, making sure she was still there and asked again that she hang on. For a second, he considered telling her what had happened, but decided it would only give her less of a reason to fight. He felt for a pulse and found it weak; he was running out of time. As a last chance, he frantically looked around for someone. The only people he could see were a group; the mixed group of the Avatar and his friends with Azula's friends.

Two broke away from the group and started coming closer to him. He recognized the two as Mai, and the Avatar's waterbender friend…Katara? That was it. His first thought was, _we're doomed_, since that waterbender could be so temperamental but with Mai running beside her (and slightly ahead), he figured she ment no harm. And if she wasn't a threat, she must be…help!

Once they approached him, Mai placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder and Katara's hands fell to her knees. "Zuko, are you okay?" Mai's hand tensed as her eyes fell on Azula and he knew she wasn't so worried about him anymore.

"Mai, it's okay."

"Need help?" Katara asked breathlessly from behind.

"More than you know," Zuko said, never taking his eyes off the princess.

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**A/N: Part Two is very interesting...I wrote it without thinking. Oo, that's a scary thought if you know me...R&R, I need to know you're not bored!**


	2. Hanging On

_**Hanging On**_

**A/N: It's here! Thanks for the reviews, I've never been motivated to add on so quickly before.**

**Like I said, I wrote this without thinking. It was an assignment, actually, for class. I'm not sure why it's in present tense...while the rest of the story isn't.**

**Disclaimer: Uh...do I really have to say it? Believe me, if I owned Avatar, this would be your season finale. So, no, I don't own Avatar.**

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"Hang on, Azula," her brother's soft whispered says again, encouraging her to stay. He wants her to grasp the small tree root hanging on the cliff and to hold on. Her body tells her 'no, it's too much,' but her mind tells her 'yes.' The flaming pain in her hurts like nothing she's ever felt before and she can feel her hands slipping on the root. But as she feels a gentle wind brush her face, Azula hears, "hang on," once more and she grips the root harder. The pain only worsens, a searing horror shooting up her arms, but still, she hangs on.

Something cool snaps around her wrists, making her hands relax. She tries not to give in, remembering what Zuko had said, but finds the task impossible and lets go of the root; letting the cold take her. But the coolness, it dulls the fiery sting and spreads from her wrists to her arms, pulling her upward. She soon finds the feeling in her chest and the constricting pain in her lungs softens, making it easier to breathe.

Slowly, Azula lets her eyes drift open to see what could possibly be doing such a thing for her, seeing that she's no longer outdoors and in danger, but rather inside…in the palace. In the throne room of the palace…well, the charred remains of it, anyway. Her mind starts to remember what had happened, the invasion and fighting, the battle and the Avatar, but most importantly, she remembers her brother, Zuko, refusing to kill her and give up on her.

Her vision focuses on what's happening at that moment, and she can see the waterbender…the Avatar's friend…holding a handful of water to the princess's forehead. Azula notices that the cool, peaceful feeling from before is not gone, and comes to the conclusion that the girl was the cause of it. Why, though? Why was this bender helping her when she'd almost killed her friend, and caused her so many unforgivable problems?

The girl notices that Azula's awake and smiles, whispering, "You'll be okay, just rest."

The way she's speaking makes Azula want to follow and rest, but not before she feels her brother's arms around her again; the clanging armor cool like the water.

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**A/N: Hope you guys like it! Part three will be up probably after school starts back up and I can keep track of the days again...**


	3. Why I Care

_**Why I Care**_

**A/N: Okay...this time I made y'all wait. I've got exams next week, there's my excuse.**

**Disclaimer: (glass-shattering pitch) I DO NOT OWN AVATAR!!! (glass shattering) sound Oops...**

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"Zuko, she'll be okay, I promise," Katara said to him, trying so hard not to put her hand on his shoulder, thinking that Mai would take it the wrong way, when she was really just trying to make him stop pacing. "She'll be sore and weak for a long time, but she'll get over it. Remember Aang?" 

Zuko stopped in mid-step, turning on his heel to face the waterbender. "Yeah, I remember."

"A few months ago, he could hardly move. Now look at him, it's like he was never hurt." She paused, then added, "You know, as long as you can't see his back."

"About that…"

"No, no, it's fine. If anything, it made him more determined to end the war."

It was quite for a minute and Zuko sighed.

"Why do you suddenly care?" she asked.

"I…I don't know. She appeared so helpless and I couldn't stand it, I guess."

Mai suddenly chipped in, sitting up straight in her chair, "But didn't you cause a lot of what happened to her?"

"Yes."

Silence fell, an awkward kind that made all three of them extremely uncomfortable because of what they'd said. Katara's eyes fell to the floor to avoid Zuko's, Zuko took a deep breath to avoid falling apart, and Mai played with her sleeve and focused on the detail of the vase beside her to avoid them both. The quiet in Azula's room seemed unbreakable, the only thing to be heard being Azula's breathing, now a little heavy like she was making up for the breath she lost. She was asleep, and they'd been whispering to make sure she stayed that way.

"I…um…I should probably go," Katara said to the floor. "It's getting late and I don't want to worry anyone since I've been gone so long." She looked up for barely a second and turned to the door, her soft footsteps echoing in the room before the door shut.

"Zuko…" Mai's words came in an extra-soft voice.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I made you confess to having hurt Azula like that." Her dark eyes glanced up at him, and through the extensive make-up he could tell she ment it.

"It's fine, that's probably why I felt so bad anyway."

"I know, but in front of Katara…"

"Mai, don't worry about it." He smiled and walked up to her. "She probably knew that anyway. Besides, she's a sucker when it comes to troubled people."

She smiled. "Yeah, I suppose."

He held his hand out to her and she took it, standing. Mai wasn't standing too long before she dropped his hand and wrapped him in a hug.

"What'd I do?" Zuko asked, returning the hug.

"What didn't you do?"

It was quiet again for a minute and Mai placed her head against his shoulder. They were still all dirty and sticky from the fight, but it didn't matter to them; they were dirty and sticky together.

"Zuko? Mai?" Azula's weak voice said.

"Yeah, Azula?" Mai answered. They didn't move; Azula was pretty used to their relationship by now and Mai couldn't find it in her to let go.

"What time is it?"

"Really late," Zuko replied, his eyes looking to the window.

"Oh…"

"Why? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Zuko," her voiced seemed like she wanted to laugh. "I was wondering was all."

"Just go back to sleep, Azula. You need the rest."

And they never heard another word out of her the rest of the night.

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**A/N: Whoops...did I lose the drama? Erm...not completely, I guess. Part Four I promise after the exams I don't really study for! Oops again. There goes my excuse.**


	4. Right and Wrong

_**Right and Wrong**_

**A/N: Okay! Exams: OVER!!! Let's party!!! Okay, let's not party. Last time Dove party, Dove hurt back...and leg. Dove's pointe teacher was not very happy with Dove.**

**No longer talking the thrid person, as promised! This part...don't ask. My mind doesn't think to well after starting school, which was when I wrote this part. Oops.**

**Disclaimer: Ha, seriously, I have two life-long dreams: to jump into the TV and take my bestest buddy of an OC with me and 'accidentially' push him and Azula down a ditch in the middle of a remote forest, and to own Avatar. I'm posting my writing here, which do you think is more likely to come true? Oh, yeah, I don't own Avatar if that wasn't made clear for some odd reason...sarcasm.**

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"Katara, I really don't think this is a good idea," Aang said as she dragged him by his wrist down the hallway the next morning. "I mean, just because Azula's weak and all doesn't mean she's changed."

"At least she can't hurt you, just give it a shot."

"She killed me, Katara!"

"Yeah, and you killed her father. You're even now."

"Don't remind me," he shivered as though he was beginning to regret having done so.

"Just trust me, okay?" Katara smiled oh-so sweetly and Aang couldn't help but trust her then, giving her an easier time as she pulled him through the halls.

As they reached the door and Katara knocked, Aang did start to doubt her. After all, Azula was the empress of evil, the princess of pain, the bringer of bad things, and the list goes on and on. She'd killed him, manipulated her own brother several times, attempted in killing her uncle, followed by imprisoning him, and brought a middle-aged man to his knees without bending a single flame!

"It's open," a dull voice called and Aang guessed it to be Mai's.

Katara shrugged and carefully pushed the door open with one hand, keeping her other tightly around Aang's wrist. Once they were actually in the room, she finally let go and he could begin to feel his hand again. He glanced up from his pained wrist and saw the three of them: Mai and Zuko sitting together at the foot of Azula's bed, and Azula herself. She lay asleep, seemingly peaceful and breathing softly. Aang couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her; after all, he knew what that pain felt like. She'd wake up in due time and not wanna move because everything would hurt so badly.

"Good morning," Katara smiled brightly and looked to Zuko and Mai. They looked up and nodded.

Aang didn't speak and Katara jabbed him with her elbow. He got the picture and after the dull pain in his side disappeared, he also said 'good morning' to the couple. He got the same answer Katara did.

Any silent moment was awkward; like the tension of the war still existed, but since it technically didn't, they weren't sure to be friendly or to stay hostile.

At last, Katara's eyes strayed to Azula and she broke the silence. "How is she?" she asked, "Did she sleep well?"

"As far as we know," Zuko answered to the wall. "She never woke up last night."

"She's not sick or anything is she?"

"No."

"Want me to wake her?" Mai said before another silence could fall.

"I don't know…I mean, what happened yesterday was pretty tiring for her and all. Maybe we should just let her rest." The waterbender continued, "So long as she doesn't appear sick or in any kind of pain, that is. But when she wakes up, I need to know." She snapped her hand around Aang's wrist and pulled him behind her again. As she placed her other hand on the door handle, she added, "You don't have to stay with her either; she'll be fine if she wakes and no one's here."

With that said, they left the room and let Mai and Zuko make their decision whether or not they would stay.

"Katara," Aang said once they were down the hall a little ways, "Do you feel sorry for her?"

It was quiet for a moment before she answered. "Yes, a little bit, I suppose. A lot of what happened to her was deserved, but not all of it. She was evil, but not that evil."

"But wasn't she just doing what she was brought up to do? How does that make her deserving of anything?"

"She tried to kill you and her uncle, tore down Ba Sing Se …"

"Yeah, but that's how she was raised. She grew up where taking over cities was a second nature and to harm those who dared stand in her way. To her, that's what was right."

"Aang, you're making this a lot more complicated than it needs to be."

"Just listen, though. I understand that she probably is not the greatest younger sister, or daughter, and can be very manipulative at times, but if she was only doing what she thought was right…is she still wrong?"

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**A/N: Yes, I mess with the minds of others. I was having a bad week with philosiphy...at least that's what people kept calling it.**


	5. Waking Up

_**Waking Up**_

**A/N: Hum...am I late or early on this one? I'm positive I'm not on time.**

**Thanks for reading, guys! I think there's only two more parts, but I'm not positive. Nope, just one. That bothers me, because I think my ending's really cheeseish. Correction, it is cheesy.**

**Disclaimer: Avatar and characters aren't mine, I had nothing to do with it's creation, and until I was forced to watch it, I thought it wouldn't last 50some episodes like it has. ON WITH THE STORY TELLING!**

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A painful throbbing in Azula's head brought her back to consciousness some time later. As she let her eyes drift open, she was a little shocked by her surroundings: her bedroom, far from the throne room, with open windows letting in a warm summer breeze and bright sunshine. The princess attempted in pushing herself up, but the pain still in her arms became too much and she fell back.

Azula's headache worsened from the short fall and she gripped a blanket hard in her hand. After a couple minutes of trying to get up, failing each time, she fell back on her pillow and gave up. To attempt to ease her pain, she began to trace the patterns of the silk threads on her bed and for the first time in a long time, she wanted her mom.

_Mom would care,_ she thought, following the curve of a dragon's tail with her broken nail, _she always cared._ But the closest thing she had to her mother now was Zuko, and he had gone.

For a little while that lasted forever, the princess traced dragons, letting her mind reminisce about her mother, and even Zuko. All of those days when she laid sick or hurt in bed, her mom would always come to the rescue, or at least visit, and drag Zuko along with her. Once her mother disappeared, though, Zuko would come see her alone, no matter what she'd done to him in the weeks before. _But not once did Father come see me,_ she recalled bitterly, _I could've been dying and he never would've come._

A sudden knock on the door and whisper of her name made her freeze position and lose track of thought. The voice was unfamiliar to her and she held her breath.

"Azula," the voice whispered again, a shadow falling over her.

She seemed to shrink back in fear and shivered, like a frightened kitten cornered by a much larger dog. Her handful of satin sheet was gripped tighter and she could feel threads snap in her palm.

"It's okay," the voice said, half-laughing and noticing her fear, "I won't hurt you." The body belonging to the voice stepped around her bed and gently laid a hand on top of her's.

Azula relaxed a bit, letting herself breathe again, and chanced a look up. Standing before her, was the Water Tribe boy…something that started with an, 's'. He had a soft smile and appeared to mean no harm. She relaxed completely.

"Did I wake you?" he asked softly.

"No…" she answered shakily, realizing her throat hurt as much as her arms.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I…I think so."

"Sorry I scared you," he smiled apologetically, adding, "Katara's been so up tight about the whole situation, she's had us all checking on you since lunch."

"Lunch?" Azula was confused. "What time is it?"

"Relax, I'm joking," he laughed a second, "I was actually just going to lunch, Katara asked if I would check on you was all."

"Oh…" She came to realize that he liked joking around, which was something she couldn't tolerate for too long.

"Guess I'm going to miss that, I should go find Katara and tell her and all."

_He seems serious enough,_ Azula thought, _and I feel fine for the most part…_ "You don't have to do that," she said, "I'm fine. Have lunch first and tell her afterwards."

"Are you serious?" he asked, shocked at her offer.

"Of course. I'm not exactly looking forward to facing her again anyways."

"You didn't happen to hit your head _really hard_ yesterday, did you?"

The princess couldn't resist and smiled. "I don't recall it."

"Sure you're not sick?"

"Pretty sure."

"You're not lying or anything?"

"No."

"Wow. Thanks, I guess. Thanks a lot." With that, he turned and left, carefully latching the door behind.

Soon as he was gone, Azula couldn't help but laugh. It hurt, actually, it absolutely killed, but she had no other choice. The boy was so amazed she could be, dare anyone say it, _nice_, it was completely hysterical! For a little while she laughed, despite the pain and the fact that anyone outside her door could hear her. When she finally stopped, she had tears in her eyes, this time, though; they were tears of joy rather than pain. Okay, maybe a little bit of pain.

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**A/N: Maybe I'll wait two or three weeks instead of one this time...it IS the big, wonderful (cheesy) ending, after all. Maybe not. Don't get your hopes up.**


	6. Dawn A New Day

_**Dawn, A New Day**_

**A/N: Ha, my last part. I went over it and decheesified it to the best of my abilities.**

**Disclaimer: Why do I have to type this on every chapter? You would expect that since I didn't own Avatar in the first one, I wouldn't own it in the last one, either. Anyways, no, Avatar is not mine.**

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"Azula?" the kind voice of the Water Tribe boy came again from the door. The princess blinked her eyes open, realizing that she'd fallen back asleep a little while ago. She didn't answer right away.

"Sokka, if she's not awake, it's not a huge deal," Katara snapped in a whisper just loud enough for her to hear.

"No, it's fine," Azula spoke up tiredly, moving to attempt in sitting up, "I'm awake." She carefully pushed herself up without slipping and falling back, even though her arms still stung with sore pain.

_That_ got Katara's attention. The waterbender practically sprinted to Azula, shortly followed by the bubbly acrobat that was Ty Lee. The boy-_Sokka_-took his sweet time and walked.

"Azula!" Ty Lee exclaimed, constricting her friend in a hug, "You're okay!"

The hug, though ment to be harmless, was more painful than usual. "Ty Lee," Azula said, half-returning the hug, "I can't breathe right now."

"Oh, sorry," she giggled, letting go.

"Thank you."

"Do you feel alright?" Katara asked, "Does anything hurt?"

"I'm fine, just sore."

"That's good, that's…that's really good." The girl seemed amazed, like Azula was supposed to be in a sort of excruciating pain, or completely comatose instead of awake, or something. "Are you…do you want to stand?"

"I…" Remembering how painful it was in her arms to sit up on her own, she imagined the pain of standing, or just setting her feet on the ground. "I can't."

"Of course you can, Azula!" Ty Lee's perkiness didn't encourage her. "You can do anything!"

"No, Ty Lee, I don't think I can," she tried convincing her friend to stop talking, "It's…" But her brother's words stopped her. _It's an excuse to not try…_ they said. But the pain… "It's too much."

"Well, okay," Katara broke in, "But we were kinda hoping you would come down with us. I mean, Aang wanted to talk to you, and…I think Zuko did too."

Aang? Which one was that, again? The Avatar? "I really shouldn't, it hurts a lot to sit up and I don't think…"

"Please, Azula," Ty Lee begged, "Aang's really nice."

"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?"

"No."

"Then I don't get a choice," she held out a hand, "Don't hurt me."

Ty Lee gently took her friend's cold hand, then the other, and helped the princess to her feet. Azula had predicted right; the same fiery pain shot through her tired legs and she almost collapsed back on her bed, but the acrobat quickly righted her. After the room stopped spinning, and Ty Lee had let Azula stand on her own, the hurt began to dull. Sokka smiled, Ty Lee forced herself to not hug, and Katara simply asked, "Can you walk?"

Walking proved itself to be a challenge, and both Ty Lee and Sokka kept their arms around her and carefully led her down to one of the few undamaged rooms in the palace, Katara right behind. Back, far from the throne room, and very far from Azula's room, the four met Zuko and Mai, with the Avatar and his earthbender friend, talking nicely and drinking tea. As they entered, Zuko's face lit up to see his sister up and around; she was led to a soft couch (all the way across the room), where Ty Lee and Sokka stayed with her.

Awkward silence filled the room and everyone's eyes seemed to fall to the floor in a loss of words. Zuko finally spoke first. "Azula, I have some bad news," he began slowly, looking up. "Dad didn't survive the battle yesterday."

Tears filled Azula's eyes as Aang spoke softly, "I'm so sorry."

Barely hearing the young Avatar, she looked up, smiling. "Then congratulations, Fire Lord Zuko," she let her voice say without force.

Mai hugged her prince tightly and Ty Lee laughed. Aang and Katara applauded, Sokka smiled, and the blind earthbender…Toph; joined in clapping. Zuko turned bright red.

It was a new day, a fresh start, and a bight horizon, all ready for the changes of several lives.

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**A/N: Could've sworn it had less cheese than this...ho hum. Oh well. It was stop here or go on for days and days. I'm trying to outgrow that habit.**

**Well, I hoped you enjoyed my story! I've got a lot more I found when I was cleaning the drive today! Maybe something with Aden, next! hugs Aden If you weren't imaginary, Azula's, and instead mine, I would so never leave you alone with that...**


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